Nancy Rafetto Sweeten

She was born in Elkins Park, a suburb of Philadelphia, on Nov. 13, 1923. She was the first girl to be president of the student association of Cheltenham High School and was All-Suburban Philadelphia Field Hockey. She was the first female president of the student association of Oberlin College, where she earned her bachelor of arts degree. In 1952, she was awarded a doctorate in American civilization by the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

Dr. Sweeten was an academic dean and lecturer in English literature at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to traveling extensively for the university's fund-raising programs, she had a popular early-morning television program about great American authors, such as Emerson and Thoreau. Though many students watched for college credit, many others watched just out of general interest.

She was a member of the university's library board and an associate trustee of the university.

She served Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo's administration as vice chairperson of the City Charter Commission, hospital authority, and parking authority. She also served on the board of trustees of Germantown Academy.

Her first husband, MacEdward Leach, was a distinguished professor at Penn who founded and headed the folklore department. He died in 1966. In 1973, she married E. Craig Sweeten, senior vice president of development and public relations of the University of Pennsylvania. They acquired a second home in Skytop in the 1970s and lived there for 20 years. Sweeten served on the board of directors of the Eastern Monroe Public Library.

In the 1990s, they moved to Florida, where she continued to share her extensive knowledge and love of American literature by serving as president of the book club and a director of the library at Bay Village, a continuing-care retirement community.

She is survived by her husband, E. Craig Sweeten; son Douglas E. Leach, daughter-in-law Denise, and two grandsons, Christopher and Brian of Lansdale; and stepdaughters Barbara Lynn Schnabel of Green Lane and Jane Elizabeth Gillis of Lincoln University.